The best Asian restaurants in Rome according to Gambero Rosso

We know how attached Rome and the Romans are to their own traditions and cuisine, but the capital has always, in its history, welcomed and incorporated the traditions of others, both from other parts of Italy and the world. The proposal of international cuisine is rich in the city in terms of number of addresses and variety of origins: many novelties, especially in the field of street food and fast food, concern exotic traditions, from South American to Asian. Catering, however, has not yet reached the maturity and the heights of quality that are reached in other European cities (or, to give a closer example, in Milan), with a few exceptions that we promptly point out with the 'mappamondi', the symbol that in the Gambero Rosso guides distinguishes the best international establishments, one, two or three mappamondi, depending on the degree of excellence.

The best asian restaurants in Rome

There are two establishments awarded Tre Mappamondi in the “Roma e il meglio del Lazio” 2024 guide: a confirmation, Dao Restaurant, Jianguo Shu's Chinese cuisine restaurant, and a new entry in this guide, Kohaku, Sabrina Bai's beautiful Japanese restaurant.

Dao Restaurant

Jianguo Shu's story is worthy of a novel. He arrived in Italy in 1992 as an illegal immigrant after a long journey between Russia and former Yugoslavia. After various vicissitudes that brought him to Rome, in 2012, driven by the lack of a high-profile Chinese restaurant in the capital, he opened Dao, in the Montesacro district. The focus is on the country's millenary culinary culture, with minimal ambience, attentive service and regional recipes that are still little known to the Capitoline public, such as the tender and mouth-watering Dong Po pork served with pancetta and broccoli, or roast duck with plum sauce. Success came in a short time, the restaurant was renovated, with a Dim Sum Bar in 2019; from January 2023, the Dao Chinese Bistrot opened in Piazza Bologna.

There is a varied choice on the menu: the meat ravioli mix is good (Cinta Senese pork above all), and for those who love spicy food, try the Duo Jiao, a sea bass steamed with leeks, ginger and a spicy Sichuan sauce. Staying in the same region, spicy aubergines stand out in the side dishes. There is a fine selection of accompanying teas, with descriptions and pairing suggestions at the table. The flexible offer of the Dim Sum Bar is also of a high standard, from aperitif to after dinner, with a varied proposal to mix between an oriental-inspired cocktail or an oolong. Note of merit for the attentive and professional service.

Dao Restaurant – viale Jonio, 328 - Roma – daorestaurant.it

Kohaku

Not far from Via Veneto, this restaurant, opened at the end of 2022, now sails with confidence as a reference point in the city for lovers of true Japanese cuisine. The rigorous and high quality proposal is chiselled in every aspect, from the beautiful handmade ceramics to the playlist, created ad hoc by sound designer Yiming Zhou. You are welcomed into an ambience of whispering elegance, pastel colours and precise service, by a female dining team coordinated by Sabrina Bai, the delightful patronne (already known in the city for her other restaurant, Shiroya).

Protagonist on the table is Japanese cuisine in the noble kaiseki form, available only at dinner, a traditional multi-course degustation that originally accompanied the tea ceremony. To be enjoyed in the dining room, in a formidable menu - the Kohaku Kaiseki, 120 euro - of hot and cold dishes, based on fish, meat and seasonal vegetables, or, for sushi aficionados, to be experienced at the counter, with the Kohaku Sushi Kaiseki menu, at 180 euro: you sit down in front of chef Kazuaki Kawane to let yourself be guided through an immersive and intimate journey of cuts, textures, temperatures and harmonies. Superb local ingredients, organic Japanese rice from the Niigata prefecture, master technique. You can also order à la carte or, at lunchtime, choose from various lunch sets. The pairing with tea or sake - of which Bai is a profound connoisseur - is the most recommended; there is also a valid wine proposal.

Kohaku – via Marche, 66 – Roma – kohakurome.com